The Barossa Valley is arguably Australia's most highly regarded wine region, famous for producing some of the world's best full bodied, dry red table wines. The character of the region is underpinned by a large German population who began to arrive in 1842. Many of the German Lutherans who settled here for a new start in a new land had already been involved in viticulture in Germany and soon planted vine cuttings they had brought with them to Australia.

The valley boasts a temperate climate, rich soils and a sheltered environment that enables many grape varieties to thrive. Many vineyards of Shiraz, Grenache and Semillon have 50 year old vines and some over 100 years old.

The Barossa Valley Geographical Indication (GI) has a number of sub regions. FABAL currently operates approximately 100Ha of vineyards in three separate sub-regions of the Barossa Valley.

BAROSSA RISE VINEYARD - BAROSSA VALLEY

This small vineyard of only 14 hectares has a reputation for the production of extremely high quality Shiraz fruit that has frequently been used in the production of well-known iconic wines.

SHEAOAK LOG VINEYARD

The National Viticultural Fund of Australia Project No 3 MIS was established in 2004 on the western side of the Barossa Valley near Sheaoak Log. More than 60 hectares has now been established on the vineyard and the Project has been managed to ensure the future productivity is optimised.

The National Viticultural Fund of Austrlaia Project No 5 MIS was developed in 2006/07 and lies adjacent to the Project No 3 development.  14.5 heactares has been planted to this Project.

MATERNE VINEYARD - GREENOCK

Our Materne Vineyard development comprises approximately 88 planted hectares and is the headquarters for our Barossa operations. The property was originally planted to 10 ha of vines more than 30 years ago, and was purchased by NVFAL in 2000. Since that time, adjoining land has been purchased to expand the site. Some of the older original uneconomic plantings have been progressively replaced with Shiraz. The vacant land has been used for the development of two vineyards. 16 hectares has been planted by National Viticultural Fund of Australia and a further 60 hectares has been planted by National Viticultural Fund of Australia Project No 2.

The Greenock area is situated on the north western side of the Barossa Valley region and is approximately 3km due north of the township of Greenock. This area has an excellent reputation for producing high quality red and white table wine, particularly in respect to full bodied Shiraz wines.

Water

Growth in the Barossa Valley region has been limited due to water constraints. However, a community water project which delivers River Murray water has allowed potential new growth in the GI. We have taken advantage of this increased availability of water in the Barossa Valley.

The water supply was acquired from the Barossa Infrastructure Limited (BIL) Water Scheme for all vineyards (except Barossa Rise which has its own secure underground water source). The water is supplied by a combination of "direct" and “off peak” water which is stored in an existing dam on the property. The total Greenock Vineyard will require approximately 112.5 megalitres of water annually to irrigate its vines.

Climate and Soil

The Barossa Valley is situated approximately 65km north west of Adelaide. The Materne vineyard at Greenock (88 hectares) is situated in the North Western section of the Barossa Valley approximately 4km North of Greenock. The elevation of the property is approximately 300m above sea level, slightly higher than the average of the Barossa Valley vineyard. The soils are light gravelly clay loams over clay subsoils with variable shale and broken slate content.

Grape Varieties and Cropping Levels

The Greenock vineyard is planted almost exclusively to the red varieties Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. These varieties are projected to be in high demand for both the Australian and international markets. There is a small area of Chardonnay (1.5ha) in the original vineyard. Shiraz will dominate the planting because of its notable reputation in the Barossa Valley for this variety. It is also projected that these demand trends will continue in the long term. One hectare of mature “bushvine” Grenache, the fruit from which is highly sought after, exists on the property.